Do social media algorithms contribute to the spread of misinformation? Does YouTube radicalize its users? Are Google search results fostering gender biases? These are the kind of questions that research evaluating algorithmic systems (or: algorithm auditing) is trying to address. In this talk, taking place in September, key findings of such work will be highlighted.
Aleksandra Urman is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Informatics at the University of Zurich. She studies how information technologies can affect socio-political processes across different national contexts. Her work focuses on social media-based political mobilisation and polarisation, radicalisation, and the effects of algorithmic systems on political information distribution in digital environments.